FACE Family
by Ayami Aras
Summary: After the mother of his twin boys, Alfred and Matthew, left him years ago, Francine is back and begging to be let back into her children's lives. Arthur loathes the idea, but in the end he needs to decide what's best for his boys. Being a single father to two trouble making little boys is difficult and a mother's help might be nice.
1. Drinks with the Ex

"So why did you call me out to go drinking with you all of a sudden? I thought you said that you never wanted to see my face again?" A very pretty young woman swished a delicate cocktail before taking a small sip. She raised one slender eyebrow at her companion, wondering if he was drunk enough yet for him to start spilling his guts.

The answer was yes. The man who ordinarily looked so proper and well groomed had loosened his tie and even undone a few buttons, claiming he was hot. His hair was disheveled and his bushy brows met in a stressful expression. "I don't ever want to see your face again," he agreed, nodding his head and stressing syllables that didn't need to be stressed. He leaned down and rested his forehead on the bar top and sighed exasperatedly. "But I wanted to go out for a drink with you. Is that too much to ask for? A simple drink between exes after a long day of taking care of _your_ children. Is that so much to ask?" He pushed himself up and glared at his ex.

The female chuckled at the drunken show and pushed her long blond hair behind an ear. Her smile reached her eyes, framed by dark lashes and expertly done make-up. Rosy lips pulled upward and every movement of her face was deliberate, graceful and practiced. She was quite the beauty and many of the drunk's friends wondered why he had ever let her go. On the other hand, the female's friends never stopped asking what was so charming about a grouchy old English man to which the answer was _this._ She loved how cute he got. On rare occasions, the grouchy attitude would fade away to reveal a sweet and amusing inside. He was especially cute when he was drunk (and easy to take advantage of, but that would have to wait until later).

"No, it's not too much to ask. I don't mind really," She answered coolly and took another sip of her drink. She still had a level head. "I enjoy drinking with you." She chuckled. "You make me smile. You always have." Her eyes flashed to the other's face to see his green eyes dart away in embarrassment or maybe guilt. Having the upper hand at the moment, she decided to push her luck and turned to face the man directly. "Arthur," she began in an enchanting and overly sweet voice.

Arthur's ears perked up and he looked at his ex suspiciously. He knew that tone of voice even in his drunken state. "What do you want, Francine?"

Giggling softly at how well her old boyfriend knew her, Francine continued with her sickeningly sweet voice anyway, "If raising the boys is really that much of a hassle for you, you know that I wouldn't mind taking care of them sometime, right?"

This caught the drunken man's attention and he quickly sat up straight, regretting the fast action soon after. Holding his spinning head, he answered with a curt, "No."

"But, Arthur," she tried to reason with him, but was quickly cut off.

"No, Francine. You left, abandoned them…and me. You are an irresponsible mother and person in general. You can barely take care of yourself let alone anyone else! You're selfish and greedy and this isn't even about the boys. It's never been about the boys! It's all about you. It's always been about you! Who did you blame when you got pregnant? It was all _my_ fault. Who paid for all of _your_ hospital bills? Me! Who supported you when you were on bed rest? I still had to work while you quit your job without a second thought. I had to support both of us and did my best to budget and every other weekend you would come home with a new bag from Paris! When you got pregnant, I wanted to marry you, but you said no. You said you didn't want to settle down yet, but you still wanted to have the kids. After a week you realized that taking care of someone else was _too hard_ and you quit that too. I woke up in the middle of the night to two babies crying and an empty place beside me in bed. You just disappeared on me without a word. I had no idea what happened to you! Did you even consider my feelings at all? I was worried about you! Years later you show up out of the blue and say how you had been away at some fancy art school in France. How the bloody hell did you even afford to go there? You claimed that you were ready to settle down then, that you had gotten it all out of your system. I said 'okay! Why not? The boys need a mother!' and I let you come back and what did you do? You hadn't changed at all! You are still irresponsible and selfish and a very pretty lady and you think that you don't need to do anything and that you are the queen of the world and I hate you and you can never take care of the boys because they aren't yours anymore. You _left_ them, Francine. They aren't yours anymore!" The man rambled off, mumbling here and there and randomly raising and lowering his voice, making it rather hard to follow his scrambled thought process.

Meanwhile, Francine sighed and frowned. She had heard most of this before. It was the regular speech she got from her ex. He was still so bitter. That didn't seem like it was going to change any time soon and yet she still tried. You'll always hold a special place in your heart for the father of your children.

When Arthur finally finished, he ended with a grunt/whine and fell onto the top of the bar, knocking over his glass (still half full) in the process. "Ai! Watch it!" Francine complained lifting her arms off the counter so she wouldn't get beer soaked into her sleeves. "That's it, I'm taking you home." Turning to the bar tender who didn't seem surprised at all, she said, "he has a tab here right?" Getting a nod, Francine told the man to put both their drinks on it and then slung a drunken arm over her shoulders and helped Arthur walk to the door.

Once they were outside in the cool night air, Arthur perked up a little bit and insisted that he could stand on his own. He did stand for a few seconds and then he wobbled and needed Francine's support once again. He continued to grumble under his breath how he didn't need her help. Ignoring him, Francine waved her arm in the air to flag down a taxi. She had always been good at getting taxis thanks to her good looks and it wasn't long before one pulled over to invite her in. She helped Arthur into the cab and climbed into the backseat with him before telling the driver where to go.

The cab pulled away from the curb and drove off down the busy streets. Before they had even reached the residential district, Arthur had fallen asleep and was leaning against Francine's shoulders. Smiling softly down at him, she ran slender manicured fingers through his rough blond locks. Eventually, her fingers trailed down and across the male's face. Finally, her thumb fell into a rhythmic motion as it gently caressed a bushy blond eyebrow. Arthur made a few noises in his sleep and Francine chuckled softly to herself, "What a strange place to be so sensitive." Then she leaned over and planted a chaste kiss on her old lover's forehead.

"Missus?" The cabby said, looking back at her, "We've arrived."

Looking out the window at the familiar little brick house, Francine nodded, "So we have." Shaking Arthur softly to wake him up, she was able to coax him out of the car. "Hang on a moment," she told the cab driver who was waiting to be paid. Francine pulled Arthur into a warm embrace, however her hands quickly started to move around, groping at Arthur's ass and patting pockets until she finally pulled away holding Arthur's wallet. Finding the right amount of cash, she handed it to the driver and winked at him, "Oh, and it's just Miss, Miss Francine Bonnefoy." Turning her back on the cab driver and walking away with a delicious swish of her hips, Francine lead her male companion up to his front door and then again patted his pockets for the key, sneaking a grope or two in here as well.

Once inside, the two adults were greeted by a teenage girl with a pair of long brown pigtails tied up with red ribbons. "Oh? Mr. Kirkland! Is he alright?" She asked Francine, worried about her neighbor's health.

Francine smiled and nodded her head, "Yes, he's fine. He just needs some sleep. You're the babysitter right? How much does he owe you?" She opened Arthur's wallet again to extract the girl's pay from it.

The babysitter, who was a neighbor from down the street had a fair price and babysat for Mr. Kirkland often. Even though, she had never seen him come home so drunk before and the concern clearly showed in her eyes. Francine felt generous with Arthur's money and gave her a good tip since it wasn't fair she had to see her employer in such a state. The girl thanked Francine (and although he probably couldn't understand her, Arthur too) and was about to leave when Francine stopped her.

"How were the boys?" She asked.

"Oh, they were very well behaved. Alfred got into the cookies before dinner, though and I had to put him in time out. Mattie and I played checkers together and then we all watched Power Rangers and ate macaroni and cheese with milk." She smiled. She was a good babysitter and proud of it. She also loved the boys and enjoyed playing with them very much.

Francine smiled bittersweetly at the description. Her boys were living their lives without her and she was regretting ever leaving them. "Oh, I missed your name. I'm Francine by the way."

"I'm Michelle, but the boys like to call me 'Chelle" the girl smiled again. She had a very nice smile. "It's very nice to meet you Miss Francine." After shaking hands, the young girl hurried home, her light blue dress doing little to protect her from the chilly night air.

Francine watched her go and thought to herself that that was the only female that her boys had contact with. How would they grow up without a proper motherly figure in their lives? She looked at Arthur who was slumped on her shoulder, half asleep. With this one raising them, who knew what their futures looked like! "Alright now, let's get you to bed," Francine murmured softly and guided Arthur to his bedroom.

The house hadn't changed. Francine and Arthur were still together when Arthur first put the down payment on the small home. He explained to her that their children would be raised properly in a proper home in a good neighborhood. It had been expensive despite being the smallest house on the block, but Arthur was sure they would be able to pull through. Then Francine quit her job and the hospital bills kept piling up. Thinking about it now, she wondered how Arthur had managed to stay afloat. She vaguely remembered waking up late at night and hearing him talking on the phone asking for loans and favors. She didn't really spend much time in this house and had run off to Europe within a few months. Even so things still looked the same. Even the boxes piled in the corners were still there. Had Arthur never had the chance to really move in even after all these years? Things that had looked shiny and new back then were covered with dust. Did he not get around to cleaning ever? Well, it must be hard raising two boys on your own and working all at the same time. Who had time for house work?

Arthur's room was the worst of all. Boxes made it difficult to move about and it was a mess. Clothes were all over the floor and papers (probably from his work) were littered everywhere. Francine found herself looking around for a dresser or a desk, but didn't see one. She remembered that Arthur hadn't had either way back then, but had he still not bought one? Could he not even afford to buy himself a dresser? Something he said years ago rang in her head, "I don't mind giving up a few things to make sure our boys get a good life." Lying the man down in his bed and taking off his shoes, tie, and belt, Francine wondered how she could have been so selfish in the past. Arthur, he was so giving, so selfless and she had walked all over him. No wonder he hated her now.

After taking off his pants and his shirt, Francine pulled the covers over him and kissed his cheek. She watched him sleep for a moment and then slipped out of her own shoes and stripped down to her underwear. About to climb into bed with her ex-lover, a noise from the other bedroom down the hall caught her attention. It was crying. A moment later a second voice joined the first and their wailing increased in volume.

The sound reached the drunken man's ears and he bolted up and sprang out of his bed and down the hall, not even noticing Francine. It was the practiced response of an only parent. Francine quickly followed after the man and peeked into the room the crying was coming from.

"Shhh," Arthur was bouncing a little boy with blond hair and blue eyes and rocking him back and forth in his arms. "Shh, it's okay. It's okay. What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare? It's okay. Daddy's got you now. Daddy's got you." The boy grabbed at his father's face and started to calm down. Arthur then moved to the boy's brother who was still crying and sitting in his bed. "Mattie, are you alright? Did Alfred wake you up? It's alright. Everything is fine. There's no need to be afraid. Shhh." Soon enough both boys had been put back to bed and were sleeping soundly.

Francine finally spoke softly, "Wow. Aren't you Mr. Dad."

Arthur looked at her, a harsh expression crossing his face. "Francine, what are you doing here?"

"I brought you home," She answered, proud of herself. "You were too drunk to make it on your own."

Arthur sighed and rubbed his temples as he ushered her out of the boys' bedroom and back into the family room. "Fine then. You brought me home, now go. You aren't welcome here anymore." His voice was low and tired.

Francine pouted and leaned forward, making sure to squeeze her breasts together to help her convince Arthur to let her stay.

"That's not going to work, Francine. I'm not a foolish young man eager for sex anymore. I'm a dad. I have responsibilities. The boys have always and will always come first and you being here isn't good for them. I don't need them confusing you for their mother."

"But I am their-" Francine began, but she was cut off.

"No, Francine. You aren't. A real mother wouldn't abandon her children like you did."

"Oh, _come on,_ Arthur!" Francine complained a bit too loudly and earned herself a "shh" from Arthur. "Come on, Arthur," she repeated, quieter this time. "I am so their real mother. So I made a mistake, that doesn't give you the right to boot me out of my childrens' lives forever! I want to be a mom now. I'm ready this time!"

"That's what you said last time and from what I've seen, you still haven't changed. You're still as irresponsible as ever and I'm not going to let you into my childrens' lives just so you can leave them again. No, Francine. No."

"Arthur," Francine complained softly.

Arthur repeated sternly, "No. Now go home."

Then Francine pouted at Arthur and continued to beg him with her eyes. Suddenly Arthur wobbled, still not completely sober and Francine's face lit up. If he was still at least a little drunk then she would be able to get what she wanted, she was sure of it. Moving closer to Arthur, she turned on her seductive charm full power and let a lithe hand fall on her lover's shoulder. "Arthur," she whispered softly into his ear, "You should get back to bed. Aren't you tired? I promise that I'll leave once I get you in bed, okay?"

Despite his better judgment, Arthur agreed and retreated back to the bedroom where he climbed into his bed. "Now, go," he murmured, crawling under the blanket, "and lock the door on your way, whoa!"

Instead of holding true to her word, Francine had crawled into bed with Arthur and was snuggling up next to him.

"Francine!" Arthur complained loudly, but a finger quickly pressed against his lips.

"Shhh," Francine cooed, "you don't want to wake the children, do you?" This successfully got Arthur to quiet down, but he still wasn't complying.

Francine easily slipped out of her bra, discarding it beside the bed. Then she moved her body close to his and let her now exposed breasts brush lightly against the pale skin of Arthur's chest. The man swallowed, unable to speak anymore. Francine smirked. She knew exactly how to get her way with men and Arthur was no exception. Slowly, she crawled on top of Arthur, planting soft kisses here and there before finally claiming his lips. Arthur, a slave to his old lover's ways, had no choice but to return the kiss. Soon enough the two were intertwined in love like they used to be and old emotions rose up from the depths of their hearts, reminding them of the feelings they once shared.


	2. Regret Drinks with the Ex

By the morning, Francine was gone and only the scent of her flowery perfume lingering in Arthur's bed confirmed that she had ever been there at all. Sitting up in his bed, Arthur held his head as it ached dully. He should know better than to get drunk on a work night, but sometimes he just really needed to get out of the house and be at least a little irresponsible. He and Francine had been high school sweethearts and before either could fully comprehend what was happening, they became parents and Arthur had to take on new responsibilities. The time in most young men's lives to be reckless and irresponsible was cut short for Arthur and he couldn't afford to do anything stupid anymore. Then even more pressure was added on to him when Francine refused to grow up. The stress built up over time and Arthur just had to go out and get a little drunk sometimes to cope. It felt good to do little stupid things here and there. It made him feel young again with no worries. Thus, he had called up his ex for a drink, knowing fully well that it was a stupid thing to do and that he would most likely regret it later. He was regretting it now.

Despite the hangover, Arthur forced himself out of bed, showered, shaved, and pulled on clothes he was pretty certain were clean. The entire process took him less than 20 minutes. He never gave himself much time for himself; how could he with two young trouble making boys under his care? Arthur proceeded to said trouble making boys' room. "Rise and shine, boys," Arthur smiled as he crossed the room and opened the blinds, letting the early morning sun fill the room.

As sunlight shined brightly on the two boys' faces they both started to move. Alfred immediately pulled his covers over his face to block out the intruding light and go back to sleep while Matthew sat up and rubbed his eyes. The boy yawned, revealing a full mouth of baby teeth with one missing on the bottom row.

"Good morning, Matthew," Arthur smiled at the boy before directing his attention to Alfred, the real troublemaker. "Alfred. It's time to get up," he said merrily as he moved closer to the boy's bed. There was no response. "Alright, if you want to play this game," Arthur said coolly before springing, arms reached out to the lump in the bed and he started tickling the boy beneath. Alfred roared in laughter as he kicked the blanket off and tried to get away, but Arthur wasn't going to let him go so easily. He continued tickling relentlessly for a few moments longer before he finally stopped and sat back with a laugh. "Good morning, Alfred."

Now that both boys were awake, the next task was to get them both dressed. Opening the top drawer of their shared dresser, he handed each boy a pair of boxers to put on. Then he opened the bottom drawer and handed them each a pair of shorts. Lastly, Arthur opened the middle drawer and picked out a pair of shirts. One was bright red with a dinosaur on it and the other was a sky blue with a polar bear on it. Matthew took the blue shirt with a smile and pulled it over his head, but Alfred was being more difficult. "I don't want to wear my dino shirt today."

"Well then what shirt would you like to wear?" Arthur asked patently.

"Guess!" Alfred squealed delightedly, clapping his hands. He loved playing games like this.

Alfred sighed, but complied and put the red dino shirt away before picking a different shirt. This one was neon green with an alien on it. Alfred laughed and shook his head no. Arthur tried again with an orange shirt with a picture of a monster truck on it. Still Alfred shook his head no. Finally Arthur pulled out a dark blue shirt with a superman logo on the front. Alfred grinned happily and snatched the shirt from his father, then quickly pulled it on over his head.

"Alright. To the bathroom now. Come on," Arthur ushered the children into the bathroom where they brushed their teeth and combed their hair. Looking at his boys in the mirror, Arthur laughed. "Both of you. Why won't your hair lay flat?" Each boy had at least one stray strand of hair that stuck out. Matthew's even curled despite the rest of his hair being nothing more than a little wavy. Alfred's was the most stubborn sticking straight up from the top of his head. It looked like a little antenna and Arthur joked sometimes that Alfred could pick up radio waves and hear music if he ever stopped talking long enough to listen.

In the kitchen yet another challenge presented itself. What to eat. Cereal bowls were taken from the cupboard and given to each boy with a spoon. Then they each picked out a box of cereal to eat while Arthur got the milk from the fridge. Once the two youngsters were sitting down with a bowl full of Lucky Charms and Maple-O's, Arthur started making himself a cup of coffee and eating his own bowl full of Cheerios. He watched the children like a hawk as he sipped his coffee, eyes alert for any possible trouble.

Thankfully breakfast went by without incident this morning and Arthur was able to walk the boys to the bus stop and get there on time. Far too often the three of them had to dash down the sidewalk to catch the bus. Arthur waited with them until the large yellow vehicle came barreling down the street and stopped at the corner. Arthur kissed both boys on the forehead (to which Alfred loudly protested) and then watched as they climbed onto the bus. He wished the elderly bus driver a good morning and then waved as the bus pulled away and then turned another corner on its way to school.

The children thus taken care of, Arthur returned home, cleaned up from breakfast and did his best to tidy up a little bit before he left for work. For a single parent, getting the right job is only accomplishable by hard work, the right connections, and research. The same can be said for someone without a college degree, but for someone who has both of these handicaps it can only be accomplished by the grace of God. Looking back on the last few years of his life, Arthur sometimes wondered how he had managed to get so far. Every day he had felt like a fish flopping around on dry land, gasping for breath, but now he had finally reached a point where he felt comfortable.

Thanks to a good connection, Arthur landed himself a job with a finance company. He started out in the worst possible position, but quickly worked his way up. He proved himself to be a hard worker and despite not having a college degree was able to quickly climb the ranks. He had been required to take a few classes, which he was able to complete online and late at night after he had put the boys to bed. He had been able to pay for it thanks to financial aid that had been available to him. It had been hard work and he had to go without a lot of things (including a good night's sleep) for a long time, but it had been worth it. Arthur didn't gain a BA or even an AA, but a certificate of completion (which was enough for his company) and he had been able to advance even further. Arthur now had a secure job that paid well. He was well liked within the company and had become an asset. He was even able to gain a flexible schedule including being able to work from home for some of his hours.

Arthur locked the house behind him and then walked a few blocks with a briefcase under his arm. He stopped at a bus stop and waited. He didn't own a car; it was one of the luxuries he couldn't afford and could do without. Even with such a good job, he wasn't rich and still went without a lot of things for himself, preferring to spend his hard earned money on his children instead. He could have saved up for a car if he wanted to, but instead he took every bit of extra money and put it away in a college fund for Matthew and Alfred. He was determined to give them the opportunities he never had.

The bus finally rolled up and opened its doors letting Arthur and a few other people on. Arthur flashed his bus pass and then found a seat. The ride would only take about 15 minutes, but Arthur wasn't about to waste that time. Instead of idly looking out the window or twiddling his thumbs, he opened his briefcase and started rifling through some papers and making some notes here and there with a blue ink pen. When his stop arrived, he shut his case and filed off the bus. From the bus stop, Arthur's company's office was only a few minutes' walk away.

The building he went into looked impressive. Arthur himself looked impressive with his suit and nice clothes. Looking at him one wouldn't imagine that he was ever struggling with money. He knew how to present himself. Once inside, Arthur was greeted by several people, but he didn't stop to chat with anyone unless it was about work. Some of his coworkers thought of him as unsociable while others admired his work ethic. The ones who worked closest to him obviously were the ones who knew him best and while he wasn't known for talking about his personal life, he could easily be distracted if one simply asked how his boys were doing.

"How are the boys doing?" a familiar voice asked.

Arthur turned around although he didn't have to see to know who the flat voice belonged to. Walking up behind him was a small man with a thin frame. He had short blond hair and cool blue-indigo eyes. He kept his bangs out of his eyes with a clip in the shape of a cross and yet there was one long piece of hair that curled out to the side. It reminded Arthur of Alfred and Matthew's stubborn hairs and yet this one always caught him off guard. At times the light would hit it just right and make it appear to not even be attached to his head but just floating beside it. "Good morning, Lukas. The boys are doing fine, though you aren't normally one to ask."

"Well I figured that this must be a difficult time in their lives. Having to reintroduce them to their mother can be tough." Lukas fell into step beside Arthur as they walked through the building.

"What?" Arthur asked, bewildered, "Where on Earth did you get an idea like that? That isn't happening at all!" He turned his head to look at his coworker and friend, but didn't slow his pace. He was on the clock, no time to stop and chat, although he could talk as he walked to his desk.

"I saw you and Francine last night coming from a bar." It was stated simply as an observation. Lukas's voice didn't change much and it was hard to ever spot emotion or anything in it. Before his companion could ask, he added, "Mathias dragged me out last night. I thought he was the only idiot who thought it was a good idea to go drinking on a Thursday night, but I see I was wrong."

Arthur sighed and flushed a little at the jab. "I have no excuse for what I did." Really last night had been a stupid whim to do something reckless.

"Well? Since when did you start seeing your ex again?" Lukas asked bluntly, not allowing Arthur to avoid the question.

"I'm not seeing her. Last night was a onetime thing. Really I don't know why I called her." Arthur avoided eye contact. Lukas had been his friend since high school. It was because of him that Arthur had been able to get a job with this company (his father was the president). Thus this man knew practically everything about Arthur's life and past mistakes.

Lukas's facial expression didn't change and he stated a simple, "I see."

Arthur knew better than to read into Lukas's words, but he couldn't help but sense sarcasm. "I'm not getting back together with Francine. Not again." He said firmly, but was given no answer. Finally he reached his desk and sat down, quickly getting to work. The topic of conversation easily changed from Francine to work and the former wasn't brought up again. Soon enough Lukas excused himself to do his own work.

For the rest of the day there weren't any more distractions and Arthur did his best to get as much done that he needed to get done while he was still in the office. Despite forgoing breaks, taking a shorter lunch most days and working hard, there never seemed to be enough time in the day before he had to return home. He was thankful for afterschool programs that kept the boys busy an extra hour and a half and the bus service that brought them home, but he still grumbled when he had to pack up and leave for home when there was still so much that needed to get done. Arthur clocked out and bid a short goodbye to a few coworkers who happened to cross his path on his way out.

Arthur arrived home about fifteen minutes before Alfred and Matthew and he used these few minutes to try and clean the house. Only fifteen or so minutes a day was a pathetic attempt at keeping a clean home, but it was all he could manage and as long as the important areas like the kitchen and bathroom were kept bacteria free it was enough for Arthur. He could get Alfred and Matthew to clean their room and pick up their play things from the house, but they were still too young to really understand the need to clean the bathtub. According to their logic it should get clean when they took a bath instead of getting dirty because of it. Today Arthur targeted the kitchen and managed to sweep the floor and wipe down the counters before he heard the door open and two pairs of footsteps rushing in.

"Welcome home, boys. How was school? What did you learn?" Arthur asked, already aware of the answer he was going to get because it was the same one he got every day he asked.

"Nothing." Was the one word reply from Alfred. Then the boy quickly asked, "Can we eat a snack?"

Arthur laughed and nodded his head. "How about I make you guys peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?" There was a cheer of agreement from the boys and then Arthur added, "But then you have to get your homework done." The cheer quickly turned into a laugh, not the usual groan Arthur had been expecting.

Alfred explained, "We don't have homework on Fridays, silly!" Arthur blinked as his brain wrapped around the day. His little excursion last night had confused him and he had forgotten that it was a Friday today. Arthur sighed. He really couldn't have waited one more night to go out and get drunk? He had to go out on a Thursday? He really was an idiot!

After the sandwiches were made and eaten, the boys ran off to play. Alfred grabbed a soccer ball and he and Matthew scurried into the small backyard and started kicking it around. Arthur smiled, but worry tugged at the corners of his eyes. Normally he would work while the boys played during the day, but whenever a ball was brought outside Arthur had learned that he needed to keep a close watch on the boys. He sat down at the coffee table and spread his work out in front of him. It wasn't the best desk and he usually preferred the kitchen table, but this way he could keep a better eye on the boys and still get something done. He opened up a laptop his work had lent him and logged in before checking his email and quickly losing himself in his work, pausing only to quickly peek out the window at the boys.

An hour or so later, Arthur sat up and stretched his cramping muscles. He glanced outside to see that the boys had grown bored of the soccer ball and were now literally rolling around in the grass. "I guess I'll have to give them baths tonight," Arthur mused to himself before glancing at the clock. It was a little after six so he decided to get started on making dinner. "Making dinner" for Arthur normally meant making something without using the stove or oven unless he wanted to serve burnt crisps for dinner. Tonight he microwaved chicken nuggets, and steamed vegetables in a bag. Then he called the boys inside, instructed them to wash their hands and then the three of them sat down to eat.

Alfred ended up making a mess as he drowned each nugget in ketchup and barbeque sauce before eating it. Matthew was at least a little more conservative with his sauce, but not by much. Arthur was the only one who didn't mind eating them plain although occasionally he would drizzle some honey over them. Arthur asked again what they had learned in school today and Matthew shyly started explaining about the solar system before Alfred took over and excitedly waved his hands around as he tried to remember all eight planets. Between the two of them they were able to name them all although they forgot Earth until Arthur asked which planet they lived on. Arthur laughed. It made him feel so much older listening to them. When he was going to school there had still been nine planets. After dinner was finished (including all the vegetables), Arthur had the boys help him with the dishes and then had them take out the trash. Then it was bath time.

"I don't wanna take a bath!" Alfred complained to no one's surprise.

"But you have to," Arthur reasoned softly. "Matthew is going to take a bath."

Matthew already had a towel in his hands and was heading to the bathroom to take a bath first. He was such a good kid. Arthur thanked the Lord that at least one of his children had been able to inherit his own responsible attitude while Alfred took after his mother more and more every day.

While Matthew took his bath, Arthur played with Alfred. Alfred had wanted to play a video game which Arthur wasn't very good at. He kept losing, much to Alfred's delight and the boy never tiered of the easy victories. Finally Matthew entered the family room already dressed in his pajamas and Alfred renewed his protests against a bath.

"Do I have to carry you into the bathroom and clean you myself? I thought you were a big boy," Arthur asked, putting his hands on his hips, getting a little tired. The day was almost over and he was starting to wear down.

"I am a big boy!" Alfred pouted. "I can do it myself." And with that he grabbed a fluffy red towel and headed off to take his turn.

While Alfred was in the bath it gave Arthur some time with his other son. Arthur plopped down onto the couch and Matthew climbed up in his lap with a storybook in his hands. Arthur smiled and picked it up. It was a Dr. Seuss book, "My Book About Me." It was a fun little book that had blanks were the reader filled in answers about themselves. Opening it up, Arthur smiled at the writing in it and then began reading. He paused for Matthew to fill in the blanks even though the blanks were already filled in with messy handwriting. Matthew supplied his favorite color, his favorite food, and whatever else the book wanted him to fill in. Arthur quickly noticed that every answer Matthew gave wasn't the same as what was already in the book. After a few pages he guessed that Alfred must have filled in the blanks in the book before Matthew could get to it. Another surprised to Arthur was that he didn't even have to read Alfred's answers to know what they were, but almost everything Matthew said was something new to him. Why didn't he know his own son's favorite food? Favorite book? Whether or not his feet were ticklish? Arthur suddenly felt like he didn't know his son at all! How had this happened?

Suddenly Alfred ran into the room wearing nothing but a towel/cape. "Alfred!" Arthur shouted. "Go get some clothes on!" He set the book down and stood up. Alfred was laughing at his prank and ran around the couch once before Arthur scooped him up and carried him into the bedroom and forced him into some pajamas. The boy laughed and giggled the whole time.

Just as Alfred was finally decent the doorbell rang and he bolted out of his room shouting, "I'll get it! I'll get it!" He ran past Matthew who was curious to see who was at the door too and then flung the door open. He tilted his head as he looked up at a tall blond woman he didn't recognize.

"Why hello there," the woman smiled and crouched to get down to his level. "You must be…" she paused looking the two boys over doing her best to guess which was which, "Matthew."

Alfred laughed and shook his head, "I'm Alfred!" He puffed his chest out proudly and then pointed to his brother who was standing not too far behind him. "That's Matthew."

"Well it's nice to meet you, Alfred. Matthew." She smiled kindly at them both, "I'm Francine, but you can call me Mama if you'd like."

By this time Arthur had arrived and as soon as he saw Francine he scowled and hearing her say something like that only made his expression darken. "Francine!" He said sternly, stepping up and between her and the boys. "What are you doing here? Boys, why don't you go play while I talk to Francine here for a minute."

The boys looked from their father to this stranger. They were curious about who she was and how she knew their names. She seemed nice enough and was very pretty. She even smelled nice. Despite their curiosity they obeyed their father and quickly retreated around the corner, but suddenly Alfred grabbed onto Matthew's pajamas and stopped. He put his finger to his lips and then crouched against the wall so he could listen in. Matthew sat beside his brother and they both tried to peek. Thankfully Arthur was facing the other direction so he couldn't see them. Also, despite the woman being a little taller than Arthur, she couldn't see over his head.

"Francine, what in the world are you doing here? Didn't I make it perfectly clear to you last night that you aren't welcome here?" He might have been drunk, but he clearly remembered telling Francine countless times to go home and that she wasn't welcomed.

"Oh yes. You made it perfectly clear what your feelings for me were," Francine whispered trailing a finger up his chest.

Arthur's face grew hot as he remembered that telling Francine to go home wasn't the only thing he had done. "N-never mind that!" He shouted before lowering his voice again, "Look, Francine. I was drunk. I wanted to do something stupid. Last night was just a one night stand. I have no lingering feelings for you at all so I'm sorry if I got your hopes up or gave you the wrong impression. I don't ever want to see you again."

"Your words say one thing, but your body told me a completely different story last night." Francine smiled. "Come on Arthur," she quickly continued before he could cut her off. "With all the stress you have piled on your shoulders you need a woman around to help you unwind after a hard day." Her voice was silky.

"No Francine!" Arthur hissed. "And if this is all you came here for tonight then you might as well turn around and leave right now because it's not happening."

"Actually no, that's not all I'm here for," she quickly retorted. "Sex isn't the only thing I'm good for despite what you might think. I have other womanly talents that could help you out. For instance when's the last time you vacuumed or dusted? I want to _help_ you, Arthur."

Arthur raised his bushy brows and scoffed at her. "_You_? _Clean_? What game are you playing?"

"I've grown up. I've become more responsible. I can keep a home clean. I'm not afraid to break a nail like I was before. I also have a steady job and money that I want to spend on my children. And on you."

"We don't need your money." Arthur shot her offer down immediately.

"You don't need it? You're getting by just fine, huh? How long do you plan on going without a dresser, Arthur? What else are you going without? And last time I checked you couldn't cook. I hope you aren't feeding our children fast food every day. Just give me a chance and I'll prove it to you. Just one more chance. What harm could it do?"

"What harm could it do? Are you serious? If you think it couldn't do any harm then that only proves that you haven't matured yet. It can do a lot of harm. Think about how confused the boys would be by having you here!"

"And think about how confused the boys would be growing up without a mother? You'll have to tell them eventually and when the time comes what will you say? That they were mistakes? That the only reason they were born was because you couldn't keep it in your pants after a few slow songs pressed up against your high school sweetheart? Because we don't have to just be high school sweethearts. We can be more than that. We can be something good for our children."

"Francine!" Arthur shouted loudly causing the hidden children to flinch. They grew scared seeing their father so angry. They couldn't hear every word, but they could tell that the two adults were having an argument. "Francine," Arthur repeated softer this time. "Just go home. We're through. There's nothing more we can be." He was tired of arguing with Francine. She was a problem that he wasn't willing to add to his already mile long list of problems he had to deal with.

Seeing Arthur like this actually ended up making Francine angry and she snapped in a low whisper, "You stubborn, grouchy old man! You won't even consider what I'm offering will you? Even if it really is what's for the best, you wouldn't dare say I'm right. And you call me the immature one!" Francine tossed her hair over her shoulder in a fluid motion and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Arthur also shifted and momentarily provided Francine with a glimpse of the hallway where a pair of fearful yet curious blue eyes met her own. Seeing them caused her anger to quickly melt.

Noticing the strange change in Francine's expression, Arthur looked behind him. Spotting his son spying on him had a different reaction for the father than it did the mother and Arthur quickly shouted at the boy, "Alfred! I told you to go play. Is Matthew there with you too? Go to your room. Now. And don't come out."

"Arthur!" Francine shouted, shocked that he would yell at his son like that when he was obviously afraid.

"This is your fault, Francine," Arthur wheeled on her, his eyes flaming.

"My fault?" Francine shouted back. Suddenly realizing that she was shouting too, Francine cast a fearful glance back at the place Alfred had been to find it empty, but that didn't mean he wasn't still close by. Not wanting them to hear them shouting, Francine grabbed onto the front of Arthur's shirt and pulled him out onto the porch and then closed the door behind him. "Arthur, you have to really think seriously about what's best for our boys even if it includes doing something you might not particularly like. You need to stop being so stubborn and seriously consider my offer. Ask anything of me and I'll prove to you that you can trust me this time."

"Fine," Arthur snapped, saying anything to get Francine to leave, "but until I can trust you, I don't want you around the boys."

"Fine," Francine repeated, "Come to my house tomorrow and I'll cook dinner for you."

Arthur scoffed at the offer and he crossed his arms, "You claim to be responsible, but don't you know I can't just leave the boys home alone."

"Get a babysitter." Francine retorted quickly.

Arthur frowned and after a short pause, he finally sighed and said, "Lunch then. And a short lunch too. I have work to do."

With a smile and a fluid motion, Francine plucked a scrap of paper and a pen from her purse and scribbled down an address and then handed it to Arthur. "This is where I'm living now. I'll see you tomorrow then." Francine flipped her hair behind her shoulder and looked Arthur up and down before adding, "And dress up a little, k?" She smiled and winked at him playfully. "Au revoir," she waved as she turned around and walked back down the driveway to the street where a cab waited. It was as if she knew she would never get into Arthur's house. Just before Francine climbed into the vehicle, she waved once more at Arthur and smiled to which Arthur returned a frown. Then she was gone.

Arthur sighed and slowly dragged his heavy feet back up into his home. Locking the door behind him, he wondered how he was going to explain Francine to his sons. He didn't want to tell them the truth, but he didn't want to lie either, not about something like this. He walked through the house and down the hall to the boys' shared bedroom where he found them both sitting on Matthew's bed and talking softly to one another. When Arthur entered their room, Alfred jumped up to his feet and pointed at his father and asked, "Who was that lady?" He showed no signs of being upset by Arthur yelling at him earlier. He got yelled at all the time with all the trouble he got into and he didn't tend to dwell on it too much.

Matthew on the other hand was the "good child" and shied away from being scolded. He hunched in on himself and frowned, but now he worked up enough courage to lift his eyes to Arthur's and ask tentatively, "Was that our Mom?"

"She said to call her Mama. Does that mean that she's our Mama?" Alfred asked, his blue eyes searching for an answer.

Arthur hesitated before finally figuring out how to answer. "Now now, boys. It's late and you two should be in bed. Alfred, get into your own bed and I'll tuck you both in. Then it's lights out." His solution was to not answer at all. "Also, I'm not very pleased that you disobeyed me and didn't go to your room when I asked you to." Matthew hung his head while Alfred pouted at the subject change. "Did you two brush your teeth already?" Arthur ushered the boys back into the bathroom to brush their teeth and was dismayed to step into a puddle of water. When would the day finally come when they didn't leave the bathroom a mess after taking a bath?

Once the boys finished brushing their teeth, and were back in their individual beds, Alfred said, "Will you tell us a story?" He demanded more than asked.

Rather pleased that he had been able to avoid having to explain Francine, Arthur was more than happy to tell a story so he sat down on the edge of Alfred's bed and started making up a story. He picked up on one of the many story lines he normally used including knights, fairies, and tonight's theme: pirates. He was very descriptive and didn't shy away from using big words or the proper names of the parts of the ship. He would also describe diseases that plagued the sea dogs and the violence that accompanied them wherever they went. Tonight's adventure took on a more mystical theme as they battled the kraken and other sea monsters. Mermaids and sirens also graced the story, but despite being beautiful they were nothing but trouble. Perhaps it was Arthur's recent encounter with his own siren that caused tonight's description of the sea witches to be that much more venomous. Once the boys finally started drifting off, he tucked them each in, kissing them both on the forehead. After turning off the light, the room was illuminated by a unicorn night light.

Arthur retreated from the boys' bedroom and returned to the bathroom. He sighed and started mopping up the water on the floor and cleaning the tub which had gotten quite dirty after two little boys took a bath. Once the bathroom was acceptable, Arthur moved to the kitchen where he wiped down the table and cleaned up the sticky mess from dinner that he hadn't managed to clean earlier. He straightened up a little more around the kitchen and the family room before retrieving his brief case and setting it down at the kitchen table. He opened it up and did his best to get what work done he could with what time he had. He was behind in his work as he almost always was and did his best to catch up. By the time he reached a place he felt comfortable stopping at, it was a little past midnight. Yawning, he fumbled with his paper and laptop, remembering to save before shutting it down. Then Arthur stumbled to the bathroom before making his way to his bedroom and collapsing into bed. He wiggled out of his pants and shirt and fell asleep not long after.


	3. Eat Some Real Food

The morning's routine was a little different since it was a weekend. Arthur allowed the children to sleep in as late as they wanted while he woke up at the same time as he did on weekdays. He allowed himself a little more time in the shower to enjoy the warm water and close his eyes. Once out of the shower he dressed in more casual clothes before picking up his dirty work clothes from off his floor and carrying them into the laundry room. He started the laundry and would do the boys' clothes as well once they woke up. Once the washing machine was going, Arthur did a quick cleaning job in the family room and the kitchen.

Finding the book he had read to Matthew last night, Arthur opened it and flipped through the pages, trying to remember Matthew's answers to all of the questions. He shook his head, still displeased with how little he knew about one son when compared to the other. Pausing on a page that asked the reader his or her favorite food, Arthur read Alfred's answer: Hamburgers. Then he recalled Matthew's answer from last night: Pancakes. When was the last time they even had pancakes? Shutting the book and setting it on the kitchen counter, Arthur pulled out a recipe book that still looked new despite the dust that had gathered on it. Flipping to the breakfast section, he found a recipe for pancakes. "This doesn't look too difficult." He murmured to himself as he started to pull out the needed ingredients.

Several minutes later soupy and poorly mixed pancake batter was burning in a pan over a stove top that was turned too high. "Crap," Arthur cursed as he tried to scrape the failed cake from the pan. Burnt bits of the batter flaked off to reveal a still undercooked center. Smoke started to curl up to the ceiling and Arthur glanced worriedly at it. He knew from experience that any moment now the fire alarm would…a loud siren-like noise pierced the poor cook's thoughts and he cursed again as he scrambled to turn off the stove and open the kitchen window. He fanned the air with the cook book, trying to get the smoke to go out the window instead of to the fire alarm.

Two pairs of hurried footsteps reached Arthur's ears and were soon followed by two worried looking faces. "Is there a fire?!" Alfred shouted, clutching his brother's hand in his own.

"No no. I was just trying to make pancakes, but…" He frowned as he trailed off. He really wanted to be able to give Matthew his favorite food since they had hamburgers at least once a week.

"Pancakes?!" Alfred shouted, his jaw dropping open. "We never get pancakes! I want some!"

"M-me too!" Matthew piped up, excitement clear on his face.

"Ah, I'm…I'm sorry boys, but…" he glanced at the mess on the stove. Nothing he had made came even close to being edible. He looked back to his children and saw the disappointed looks on their faces. He hated seeing those looks. Arthur sighed, "Get dressed boys. We're going out for breakfast."

It didn't take long before the three of them were sitting in a diner, all of them eating pancakes. The pancakes looked, smelled, and tasted perfect. Arthur grumbled to himself about his cooking skills, but seeing his boys happy curbed his sour mood. He was also surprised to see how much Matthew ate and how messy he was with all the maple syrup in his excitement. Arthur thought Alfred was the messy child. Who knew Matthew was capable of being messy too?

After breakfast, Arthur took the boys into the bathroom to wash off their faces and then they took the bus back to their neighborhood. Instead of going home though, Arthur took the boys to one of their neighbor's house. A group of parents in the neighborhood had set up a system where they each took turns babysitting the kids each weekend so the other parents could have a day off. After Alfred rang the doorbell twice (and he would have rang it more if Arthur hadn't stopped him), an elderly man with tan skin and brown hair opened the door and smiled at the three people on his doorstep. "Hello Arthur, Alfred, Matthew." He stepped aside and the two boys ran inside to find the other kids to play with. After watching them go, the man returned his brown eyes to Arthur, "And how have you been, Arthur?" He asked merrily. "And the boys?"

"The same as always," he dragged a hand through his messy blond hair and thought about how much of a lie that was. If anything there was at least one very large problem that was rather new: his ex.

"Taking care of those two boys all by yourself. When are you going to get yourself a woman to help?" The old man winked. "You know there's a lovely young woman…" he started to say, playing match maker before Arthur quickly cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"No thank you, Mr. Vargas. I have no time for dating." Yet another lie. What was he going to go do later today? Lunch with Francine. Wasn't that a date? Of course it wasn't! So this wasn't exactly a lie. He wouldn't consider lunch with Francine as a date. No way in hell.

"And let me guess, you have no time for idle chit chat with an old man either? You are going to work yourself into an early grave if you keep going at this pace. Take some time to relax. Bring the boys over for a play date any day and take some time for yourself to relax, find a woman. There's nothing better in life than the soft skin of a woman."

"Mr. Vargas, please." Arthur stammered, his face flushing at the bold statements of the old man. Who knew how much he would say if Arthur allowed him to continue. "Thank you for the offer, but I wouldn't want to take advantage of your kindness."

"Bah! I won't hear it. Have the boys come over here after school on Friday and they can spend the night. Then you can go out and enjoy yourself, understand? And don't worry about Saturday either. I'll take the boys over to the Beilschmidt's so you can pick them up from there in the evening." Arthur knew better than to argue with this particular old man. When he got it in his head to do someone a kindness, there was nothing you could do to stop him. "Plus," Old Man Vargas added, "the boys really do enjoying playing together." Arthur smiled and finally nodded before agreeing, then bid the man a farewell.

Now that the boys were taken care of, Arthur returned home and put the load of laundry from the washer to the dryer and then added the kids' clothes to the washer. With the laundry set, he then turned his attention to work. Despite technically having the weekends off, he still had work to do that he had to catch up on. The reason he was able to have so much time off was under the condition that he still got a full-time amount of work done. The weekends ended up being a major cram session for Arthur as he rushed to finish all the work that had piled up on him over the course of the week and then get a jump start on the next week's course load. When the boys were entertained elsewhere, Arthur could concentrate without distractions and was always able to somehow pull through.

After working for a little over an hour, Arthur's cell phone rang. Assuming it was for work, he picked it up and answered without sparing a glance to the caller ID.

"Hello Mr. Kirkland," a female voice cooed from the other end¸ "I hope you haven't forgotten that important business meeting this afternoon. I'm calling you just as a reminder. I'd hate for you to get so engrossed in your work that you forgot."

Arthur frowned and pulled the phone from his ear to glance at the number of the caller. His eyebrows came together in a displeased expression and then he returned the phone to his ear, "No I haven't forgotten that _business_ _meeting_, Francine. I suppose you want me to come over now?"

"Well I said to come over for lunch and it _is_ lunch time now, so yes. I would like you to come over now. Don't worry, I won't take up too much of your time. I know what a busy man you are, but you did promise."

"Yes yes. Fine. I'll be right over." And with that, Arthur hung up and set the phone back down. He continued typing on his laptop for a few minutes longer before saving the document he had been working on and shutting the computer down. He sighed and glanced at the clock. He really didn't have time to be fooling around with lunch dates, but he knew that he had to go. If he didn't, who knew what Francine would do then and he didn't need to worry about her bothering him unexpectedly. At least this was planned.

Finding where he put Francine's address, Arthur didn't bother changing into anything nice as Francine had suggested to him last night and simply walked out the door wearing jeans and a light green cotton shirt. Arthur walked briskly to the bus stop and managed to just catch it before it took off down the street. Not having his work with him, Arthur shifted uncomfortably in his seat with nothing to do but look out the window and read over the address in his hands. His mind was buzzing with thoughts of what he needed to do for work, what groceries he needed to buy later, and several other tiring thoughts. Finally, he reached the stop he needed to get off on and exited the bus. After a short walk, he found the street Francine lived on. It was occupied by recently built condominiums with professionally done landscaping. There was a pool and a playground surrounded by a gate by a large office building. Arthur glanced around for a moment longer before focusing on trying to find the correct address. Not too much later, Arthur was knocking on a bright red door. It opened and Francine's smiling face appeared. "I'm almost surprised you actually came, but I'm glad. I already have lunch ready, so come in and make yourself at home and I'll pull it out of the oven."

Inside, Arthur scrutinized every aspect of the home. The carpet was a light beige color without any stains and the eggshell walls were also devoid of handprints (although that wasn't hard to keep clean without children to worry about). What really surprised Arthur were the smaller details. Everything was dusted and vacuumed and everything seemed like it was taken care of. There were even house plants that were thriving. It was obvious that this wasn't the result of a quick rush job, but that Francine truly kept her home this clean. Of course it wasn't perfect and there were a few messes here and there that proved that someone lived here. The kitchen smelled wonderful in a way Arthur could never hope to duplicate and smelling whatever it was that Francine had prepared for him distracted him completely from his inspection. His stomach rumbled as he seated himself at a square table with four chairs around it set up in a small dining area separate from the kitchen. There was a vase with a full bloomed red rose. Arthur lifted his brow at it, but then shifted his gaze to the pan that Francine pulled from the oven and set on a hot plate on the table. It was a bacon and cheese quiche that was golden brown without a trace of black. Arthur had thought that to be nearly impossible and wondered if it was even cooked all the way. No way could something be pulled out of the oven without _any_ burnt parts, but apparently Francine had been able to do it (thanks to luck no doubt, Arthur was sure). Besides the quiche, Francine set a bowl of salad that was made up of much more than just the iceberg lettuce and ranch dressing Arthur was used to. On the opposite end of the table was a loaf of bread (also miraculously un-burnt). Finally, Francine proudly poured two glasses of red wine and placed one in front of Arthur.

"It's lunch, Francine. Wine?" He asked, having to scoff at something.

"Just one glass, Arthur. I won't get you drunk. I promise." She smiled at him as she took her seat opposite him and started dishing out her home cooked meal onto first Arthur's plate and then her own. Once he was served, Francine kept a keen eye on her ex, wanting to see how he liked real food.

Arthur loved it. After the first bite he couldn't even pretend to be grouchy anymore. He felt like he hadn't had a proper meal in ages. There was just something about food that wasn't microwaved that tasted so wonderful and the texture was softer, crunchier, and less like rubber or Styrofoam. Francine giggled at him and his reaction and Arthur shot her an annoyed look, but it quickly faded away and he was forced to admit, "You really are a wonderful chef, Francine."

"It's healthy too. I used organic ingredients and cut back on the salt, fats, and chemicals. There are no trans fats in anything I make and I use whole grain flour, although I doubt you even know what those are." Knowing that it might break the good mood Arthur was in, Francine dared to add, "Wouldn't it be best if the boys ate healthier in a time when childhood obesity is on the rise?"

Sure enough Arthur frowned, but he didn't explode or even give an immediate rebuttal. Instead, Arthur chewed his current bite, swallowed, and then answered curtly, "It would." And then he continued eating without another word.

Francine blinked in surprise and put her fork down. Did Arthur just agree with her? And on a matter concerning the boys too? She couldn't believe it and she just stared at the man across the table from her for a long moment.

"I agree that the boys should be eating healthily. What father wouldn't want their children to be healthy? I never said that I wanted you to be the one to cook those meals for them so don't look so excited, Francine."

Laughing lightly, the woman nodded and picked up her fork again. "Of course. Then who will be the one to cook meals? Will you hire someone? I don't think you have the funds for that and I know for certain that you won't be the one to cook. And you just can't trust restaurants to be as healthy as they claim to be."

"I'll think of something," Arthur said and then took another bite of this wonderful food, wishing there was some way his boys (and himself) could eat like this all the time.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure, but I won't ruin this lovey lunch by talking about that. I know it upsets you and that's not my goal today."

"Oh? And what exactly is your goal for today then, Francine?" Arthur glanced up at her, curious, but continued eating.

Francine paused and organized her thoughts so that she could state her goal as elegantly as possible. "I want to prove to you that I have changed for the better. Take a look around. Would the old me have been able to cook a wonderful meal? Be able to hold down a steady job to be able to pay for organic ingredients and a lovely home like this? Be able to keep a home like this clean?"

Arthur chuckled softly. The food had successfully put him in a good mood and he even smiled, but that didn't mean he was going to give in so easily. "Cleaning up after yourself is basic. You might have improved since you last tried being a mother, but are you up to mother standards? Could you keep a house this clean with two children living in it?"

A sly smile crept across Francine's lips and her eyes twinkled in anticipation of her saying something that she felt was oh so clever, "Oh, but didn't you know? There are two children living here."

Just about to swallow a mouth full of quiche, Arthur coughed at the statement. "What?" He asked. Francine was living with children? Did she knock some other less responsible man up and get saddled with yet another pair of twins? If she already had kids then why was she so damned interested in his? She wasn't married, was she? No, Arthur spied no ring although these days it was becoming more and more acceptable to start a family even without being married (hell, he was willing to do it all those years ago). Was there really another man? Were there really other children? No, no. He shouldn't jump to conclusions like that. Maybe she was taking care of some younger cousins or nieces or nephews for a short vacation or something.

Enjoying her private joke, Francine nodded her head and continued calmly, "Yes. You didn't think I was living in this big condo all by my lonesome did you?" She was enjoying watching Arthur sweat and she could almost see his thought process displayed across his face as if it were a movie screen. She took a small sip of wine and then added easily, "Would you like to meet them?" She paused and smiled at Arthur. Then, before he could answer, she called out, "Oh, girls! Come out here and meet my guest, will you?"

From down the hall, beyond one of the doors to a bedroom came a girl's voice, "But you told us to stay in our rooms until he was gone." Arthur tried to guess the age of the girl the voice belonged to. It didn't sound like a very young girl. In fact, Arthur would have guessed that the voice belonged to a female about the same age as Francine, but, being misled as he was, Arthur placed the voice as belonging to a middle schooler, give or take. It was the only thing that made sense except really it wasn't making any sense and Arthur's confusion was obvious.

Francine laughed again and then answered the voice, "I changed my mind. I want you to meet him and him to meet you."

Without any further ado, the sound of a door opening and closing filled the air and then two pairs of footsteps traveled down the hallway towards the small kitchen. Arthur turned around in his seat to stare at the hallway. His eyes widened in suspense as he waited for the mysterious girls to appear, wondering what they would look like, who the father was, and several other taunting questions. Then they appeared. Two girls standing side by side, each sharing a teasing grin, giddy at their joke. The first thing Arthur noticed was their age. They weren't middle schoolers. They _were_ Francine's age (and his own for that matter). The second thing he noticed (although it probably shouldn't have mattered at that point) was that they looked nothing like Francine and thus couldn't be related in any way, not mother-daughter or aunt-niece. Once these initial observations were registered in Arthur's head, he was able to absorb the rest of their appearance. The first was strikingly pale with long white hair and red eyes. Arthur couldn't help but stare, having never seen an albino before. She was wearing baggy black shorts and a white tank top that covered her meager breasts. Her smile was mischievous and a little threatening as if she was a wolf keeping a careful eye on her prey. The second was much darker skinned in comparison to the albino, and had dark brown hair and deep green eyes. She wore a red skirt with a black trim and a matching blouse that emphasized her figure perfectly. Her smile was friendlier and more inviting although it did have that mocking hint to it and Arthur knew that it was directed to him, the butt of the joke.

Sitting back in his chair and relaxing his tensed up muscles, Arthur spat angrily, "Haha, very funny. So who are they? Roommates?" His back was turned to the girls and he picked up his fork again, not valuing the girls enough to spare them any more attention.

"Oh, he's just charming. Is this really the guy you keep going off about, Francine?" The albino asked, her tone mocking and sarcastic plus she had a bit of an accent that Arthur placed as being German. She walked up to the table and pulled out one of the extra chairs between Francine and Arthur and sat down.

The other girl took the last seat and also sat down, examining Arthur carefully. "He's not even that good looking either. Look at those eyebrows! Francine, I think we need to get your eyes checked." Her voice also had an obvious (but different) accent and was a bit thicker than the other girl's.

Dropping his fork, Arthur glared at Francine. Was he here to be criticized and mocked by her friends? She was doing an awful good job of pissing him off and further ruining her chances of ever getting to even see her children again.

Without even looking at Arthur, Francine could feel his anger rolling off him. Calmly, she addressed her friends, "Gretchen, Isabel, be nice. Did you forget that I am trying to impress him?"

The tanner girl quickly replied, "Why would you want to impress him? You could do so much better." Her accent was Spanish, Arthur finally decided.

Then the albino spoke, "Besides, you shouldn't worry about what we do. Heck, if we're extra impolite and rude it'll make you look like a fucking saint!"

"Gretchen! Language," Francine scolded as if she were scolding a five year old.

The German albino named Gretchen just rolled her eyes, "Yeah yeah, whatever." Then she turned her attention back to Arthur and complained, "She treats us like children sometimes."

"That's because you act like children." Francine retorted with a slight huff.

"Don't act like the responsible one just because you're man is here. Let him see you for who you truly are," the Spanish woman laughed.

By the look on Francine's face, she was quickly regretting bringing her roommates out from hiding but on the other side of the table, Arthur for once was eager to have them there. "Really? Please tell me all about Francine and how _responsible_ she is," Arthur asked, eager to have Francine's own friends turn against her and prove his point that she shouldn't be allowed to take care of the boys.

"Well!" Gretchen eagerly began, grinning at Arthur with a slight malicious glint in her red eyes. "Francine is just as bad as we are. She laughs just as loud and never turns down a dare. Just the other night we dared her to seduce the pizza delivery man. We got that pizza for free!" Gretchen grinned, her eyes shining in delight as she recalled the event.

"Of course a few glasses of wine helped her along," Isabel added smiling at Francine as she threw her under the bus. "And she was the only one to spill red wine on the carpet and stain it."

"Stain it?" Arthur asked, glancing back towards the other room. He hadn't seen any stain. It looked perfect to him.

Gretchen laughed, "Currently it's under the couch. We had to rearrange the entire room this morning to hide it! Francine was so frantic. It was hilarious! Seriously, she's a scream when she's drunk!"

Isabel nodded and sighed, "If only she'd get drunk more often. I remember thinking she was just as drunk as we were on several different occasions, but then the next day she wouldn't have a hangover. Then I'd finally realize that she never had more than one or two drinks. She's so sneaky!"

"Yeah, Francine. You never get smashed with us." Turning to Arthur the albino asked, "Does she get drunk with you?"

Francine interrupted here and said calmly, "No. Arthur is just like you two. He gets pathetically drunk and then needs someone to take care of him. How can I allow myself to lose control when I know no one else will be the voice of reason when the rest of us are drunk?" Francine held her head high. She knew that her friends would tease her and try to make her look bad, but she knew that the real dark secrets she could trust them to keep. Also, she _was_ the mature one and was sure that no matter what they said Francine could play it to her favor.

"Responsible one?" Arthur scoffed, feeling smug that even Francine's own friends agreed with him that she was irresponsible.

"No no," Isabel said, shaking her head, "In that respect, Francine is normally the DD and she's good at it. Not once since we became friends have I gotten drunk and then woken in a ditch, hospital bed, or an ugly man's bed and the number of good looking men's beds that I've woken up in has grown, I think."

"And good looking women's beds too." Gretchen added with a grin.

"Ahh, I would have never met Lorena if not for Francine," Isabel sighed while Gretchen rolled her eyes.

"So you can play matchmaker with your lesbian roommates. Am I supposed to be impressed with this?" Arthur asked as he reached to cut himself another piece of the quiche.

"I can take care of two very rambunctious drunks in crowded bars and clubs with desperate vultures constantly trying to take them away from me (and take me away from them as well). I think that's a valuable talent for a mother to have." She sniffed.

"Oh yes, Mama Francine takes good care of us," Gretchen rolled her eyes and ripped off the heel to the loaf of bread and started gnawing on it.

Isabel's taunts quickly turned on her other roommate and teased, "Well you have to admit, Gretchen, that if it wasn't for Francine you probably wouldn't eat."

Gretchen just grunted as she continued to eat. She wouldn't eat _this good_ that was for sure, but she would still eat, at least on most days she would. "So Arthur," Gretchen asked after a small lull in the conversation, "Do you have a girlfriend? Francine says you won't give her the time of day. What's up with that?"

Arthur gave the girl a stern look before glancing to Francine and then back to Gretchen. "Well Francine has given me nothing but trouble. Is it that surprising that I don't want to have anything to do with her?"

"Then what are you doing here now?" Isabel asked innocently from Arthur's other side. She had cut herself a slice of quiche as well and was eating it with one hand under it to catch the crumbs. Her focus was on her meal instead of Arthur despite having asked the question.

Arthur's glare grew harder as he turned his eyes to the Spanish woman. Before he could answer, Gretchen guessed, "You still like Francine don't you. You're brain says no, but your cock says yes."

Then Isabel quickly added, "Or his heart. You don't have to be so crude all the time, Gretch."

Finally Arthur snapped before any more could be said, "I have no feelings for Francine, romantic or sexual. Thank you very much. I am here only to humor Francine and to prove that she is not fit to be the mother of my children. Then I never want to see her again."

There was a long silence and the women all stared at Arthur, even Francine for a second before she dipped her eyes to look at her plate of food. Arthur didn't shrink from the stares, but did avert his eyes after a moment.

"Ouch," Gretchen gave a low whistle. "Damn, Francine. He's an asshole. Even if you're only doing this for the kids, you have to remember that they're his kids too and might grow up to be just as big of assholes."

Francine answered quickly, setting her utensils down, "Despite Arthur's grumpiness, I am not doing this just for the children." She lifted her eyes to look at Arthur, her gaze intense, "I do like Arthur no matter what you two say although I did desperately hope that you would approve."

There was another uncomfortable silence and then Isabel spoke, "Francine," she began slowly, hesitantly. Then she turned her words towards Gretchen, "I've never seen her so dead set on a man before. I feel like I have to support her."

Gretchen replied as if neither Francine nor Arthur were in the room, "Yeah, but he's an asshole. He's not good for her at all. I don't care how crazy in love she might be, I won't let her get together with someone who'll treat her like crap."

"Maybe that's what gets her off." Isabel shrugged.

"Excuse me, but we are still in the room," Arthur's good mood from the food was already long gone.

"So? You need to hear this too," Gretchen said, her attitude gave off the impression that she thought highly of herself and lowly of Arthur. "Our little Franny is interested in you whether or not you or we like it. Which means that you'll have to pull yourself together and shape up or else you'll have to face us. If you make her cry, if you beat her, if you abuse her, if you do anything to upset her you'll wake up with a horse head in your bed or some shit like that."

Arthur just stared at the crazy albino woman for a few moments trying to figure out if she was being serious or not. He spared a glance at the Spaniard and saw that she looked just as serious. Then Arthur's eyes ventured to look at Francine who was staring at him with a curious look. Arthur's eyes lingered on her for a long moment before he ripped them away and returned them to the albino. "I am not a barbarian. I would never harm her. I gave her everything I had and did my absolute best to take care of her! Why is there never anyone around to worry that perhaps _she_ isn't good for _me_? Who put a horse head in _her_ bed when she left me without a word?" Arthur's face grew red with anger and he ended up saying more than he wanted. Arthur was then greeted with several stares once again and his face flushed from embarrassment. He was not enjoying being out numbered. When had Francine's friends gone from teasing Francine to supporting her? Was he being tricked? Finally he reigned in his anger and managed to say in a quieter tone, "Lunch was lovely, Francine, I'll give you that much, but everything else wasn't as pleasant." Then he stood to leave.

"Woah, woah, woah! Dude, chill out!" Gretchen said, standing with him and grabbing onto his wrist. "So she did something stupid once. You did too the night you slept with her and knocked her up with _twins_! Everyone makes mistakes. You can't hold it against her. Just give her a-"

She was cut off as Arthur yanked his wrist out of the albino's grasp, "A second chance? She's already had that. How many second chances am I supposed to give her?"

"How many ever she deserves to get." Gretchen said between clenched teeth. She was able to go toe to toe with Arthur and wasn't about to back down. "If she was living in a shit hole doing drugs and knocked up with yet another bastard's kids then she wouldn't deserve another chance, but I think she's more than proved to you that she deserves one more. I won't let her grovel at your feet any longer!"

"Good! I would appreciate you keeping her out of my hair."

"Oh you might not have Francine in your hair, but you'll have me in your hair until you give her a proper second chance and let me assure you that you don't want me in your hair."

"I can back that statement!" Isabel chimed in randomly with a smile. "Gretchen is a bitch."

Both Gretchen and Arthur cast her a glance and she immediately shut her mouth.

Then Arthur glared at Francine who was frowning deeply at the display. "Is this why you invited me over for lunch? To have your thug friend threaten me?!"

"That's not it!" Francine defended immediately before turning to Gretchen, "And you! Stop threatening him!"

"I'm not threatening him!" Gretchen asserted, a bit of surprise creeping into her voice. She truly hadn't been trying to threaten him and was surprised to hear that they thought she was.

"I have work to do. Francine I'm leaving. I'll show myself out." Arthur growled and started to walk away from the table.

"Wait!" Francine called out quickly. Arthur turned around and raised a bushy brow at her as he crossed his arms over his chest. Francine paused and then said, "At least take the leftovers home with you. It's not as good reheated, but it's still probably better than whatever it was you were going to feed the boys for dinner tonight. You yourself said it would be good for them to eat healthy like this."

Arthur hesitated for a moment and then gave in, nodding his head, "Fine. Do you have something to wrap it up in?"

With a quick nod of her head, Francine stood and cleared the table, bringing the leftovers into the kitchen area and set them on the counter. Then she started rummaging about for some plastic containers to put the leftovers in. While she worked, she called out, "Gretchen. You should apologize."

"Apologize?!" Gretchen croaked. "Why should I? I didn't say anything that I regret. I take nothing back!" She crossed her arms defiantly and Francine paused in her work to shoot her friend a stern look. Finally Gretchen uncrossed her arms and sighed, "I am sorry that I came across as threatening. That at least I wasn't _trying_ to be. Although seriously, I'm worried about Francine and even if you don't like her or don't want her, I don't want you to hurt her, okay? And she does deserve a second chance. I know we teased her pretty bad and things got more than a little out of hand here, but she's really not that bad. Out of all of us she really is the 'Mom' and I think she'd raise a couple of boys well. Think about it. Don't blow her off just 'cuz of me and Isabel."

"And if it means anything to you, Francine really does like you." Isabel added, speaking quietly so that Francine wouldn't over hear as easily. "She's always talking about you and saying how cute you are—although I don't see it at all. But she does see something in you. Her feelings are true."

Arthur blinked in surprise. He had not been expecting being able to have a decent conversation with either of these two girls, but suddenly they were acting rather civil. The sudden change in the atmosphere almost made him feel dizzy. He frowned in puzzlement, but nodded in acknowledgement at their words. He didn't know what to say to them so he simply remained silent.

Soon enough, Francine returned to the table with the food all tucked away neatly in containers and the containers stacked in a plastic bag. "I wish lunch went better. I wanted to hear a yes from you when I offered doing this again some time." She smiled apologetically although Arthur couldn't help but feel that Francine knew exactly what she was doing the entire time. How much of her friends' heartfelt words had been scripted?

"Thank you, Francine. I wish lunch went better as well. As for your offer," he paused and glanced over the group of girls. "Next time I would appreciate not being out numbered and cornered."

Francine's eyes lit up at the response. Next time! "Yes, that was a little rude of me and I apologize. I had simply hoped that my best friends and my lover would be able to get along with one another." She smiled a bit triumphantly as if she had orchestrated this whole scene and that everything had gone exactly according to plan.

Arthur hesitated seeing that smile, but finally sighed and simply picked up the bag of food and walked to the door, thanking Francine once more politely. She followed him out, wishing him a safe trip home. Then the hell was finally over. Arthur let out a pent up breath of air, rubbed his temples, and made his way home.

Once he was finally home, Arthur checked the laundry and then sat down in front of his laptop. He had wasted enough time today and needed to get caught up on his work. He barely moved and didn't break for tea or a quick stretch or anything. He was behind and couldn't afford even the smallest of distractions. Before he knew it, a little over three hours had past and after sparing a single look at the digital clock in the corner of his computer screen, Arthur was shocked to see the time encroaching on five. He was supposed to have picked up the boys from the Vargas's an hour ago! Bolting from the chair, he didn't even pause to save his work before finding his shoes and slipping into them as he raced out the door. After locking up, Arthur pulled out his cell phone to check if he had any missed calls or messages that could have been from the Vargas's, but there was nothing. He frowned. He didn't think that anything was wrong, but why wouldn't they have called him if he was an hour late picking up his children?

It was a short power walk to the neighbor's house and Arthur was knocking on the dark green door within just a few minutes. When it opened, Arthur was greeted once more by the old Mr. Vargas's smiling face. "Hello Arthur. Did you have a good day today?"

"I'm terribly sorry for being late." Arthur panted, his face turning a little red.

The old man shook his head and continued to smile. "No no. It's no problem. I hope that you did more with your day than just work all day, although I suppose it wouldn't hurt to get ahead so that you'll have less work to do next weekend, which is your weekend off. Don't forget. I'm taking care of your boys then too."

"I really couldn't ask you to do so much," Arthur argued feebly.

"Nonsense!" The man boomed, his smile never leaving his face. "I've already let Al and Matt know that they are to come here after school on Friday, so the plans are already made! You wouldn't want to cancel their play date, now would you? They sounded so excited to hear about the sleepover." Mr. Vargas smiled sneakily.

Arthur knew he couldn't win and finally gave in with a sigh, "Alright, but I'll have to return the favor another weekend."

With a wave of a large hand, Old Man Vargas dismissed Arthur's concerns. He was a retired army veteran who lived with his daughter and her family. He loved his grandchildren (and children in general) and loved nothing more than spoiling them rotten. When it was his daughter's turn to host the weekly babysitting he spent the entire day playing with the children. Then when the last child was picked up by their parent, he looked as sad as his grandchildren when they had to say goodbye to their friends after a long day of fun and play. Taking care of the neighborhood kids wasn't a chore for him, but a delight. "I enjoy doing this. It's not a problem at all. A retired old man like me needs something to do with my days while the younger generation is running around working. So don't fret about it." Finally, he stood aside and invited Arthur inside while he called out, "Alfred! Matthew! Your dad is here. It's time to go home. I know you know. Where are you two hiding?"

Alfred's voice floated to the adults from somewhere in the house, "You have to find us!"

Mr. Vargas smiled at the proposed game while Arthur frowned and shifted his weigh from foot to foot. He wasn't the type of person to enjoy lollygagging. He wanted to be in and out but every time he picked up the kids from Mr. Vargas it became an ordeal and the old man only promoted it by playing along. "Come on, boys. It's time to go home." Arthur called out.

Grandpa Vargas glanced at Arthur and his face fell for a moment. Despite the actuality, Arthur was acting like the older one while the old man was acting like a child. "I'll get them," he murmured, a little embarrassed at being out matured. Then he lumbered off down the hallway while Arthur waited. Only a moment later came the high pitched sound of children laughing and the deep boom of the old man's laughter. The next moment, Alfred and Matthew came running into view screaming and laughing. When they saw Arthur they both charged him and then latched onto each of his legs, hugging him happily and babbling about their day. Close on their heels were the Vargas boys. They looked to be twins as well, but were actually separated by a year with the younger one being the same age as Alfred and Matthew. They strongly resembled their grandfather and each had a smile that was almost an exact duplicate. Upon seeing Arthur the older of the two Vargas boys, Lovino, stopped and frowned while the younger, Feliciano, continued following Alfred and Matthew and also found a spot to hold on to Arthur's pants.

"Woah, I think you've got one too many there, Arthur!" Mr. Vargas laughed as he appeared after the children. He walked over and lifted little Feliciano up and held him in his arms. Then he asked the boy, "Did you want to go live with Alfred and Matthew? Is that it? You don't like living here anymore?" The old man frowned, pretending to be upset. "Do you not like me or your brother anymore?"

"No no! I love you, Grandpa. And Lovi too!" The young boy said frantically, not wanting to upset his grandfather or brother.

"Then prove it," Grandpa Vargas said, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "How do you show someone you love them?" At the prompt, Feliciano kissed his grandfather on the cheek after which the old man burst into a large smile and kissed his grandson on the cheek in return. Then he set the boy down and told him, "Now don't forget your brother. Go let him know that you love him too." Feliciano nodded to the old man and then ran towards his brother, arms outstretched.

Seeing his brother charging him, Lovino's eyes grew wide and he shook his head, "No! Feliciano, no! Don't kiss me! Feliciano!" He spoke in a warning tone, but when it looked like his younger brother wasn't going to listen, he turned tail and ran.

Meanwhile, Arthur was trying to peel his own children off his legs, but they were being stubborn. "Alfred, Matthew." Arthur said sternly, but they paid him no heed and continued to giggle. Arthur tried walking, but they had long since grown too big for him to be able to move around. "Come on boys. Play time is over. It's time to go home. You have a special dinner tonight."

That got their attentions, the little gluttons. "A special dinner? Are we having hamburgers?!" Alfred asked, his eyes growing wide.

Not about to lose the hold he had, Arthur just chuckled and dodged, "You'll have to wait and see when we get home." That worked just as Arthur had wanted it to. The boys quickly climbed off Arthur's legs and started tugging at his arms, pulling him towards the door, eager to get home and find out what this 'special dinner' was. Arthur chuckled and then bid farewell to Mr. Vargas who was smiling and laughing after his own boys. He flashed the Kirkland family a quick goodbye and then chased after Feliciano and Lovino happily.

After a short walk, Arthur and the boys returned home. Curious as to what dinner was, Alfred and Matthew followed Arthur into the kitchen and peered curiously at the bag of leftovers Arthur pulled from the fridge. They had never seen quiche before and stared at the pie-looking treat with wonder as Arthur put it into the microwave. Then Arthur took out the tossed salad and both boys wrinkled their noses at the greens. Arthur chuckled and said, "Just try it. It'll be better than the normal salads, I promise." Then the table was set and the food dished out.

Alfred and Matthew both eagerly bit into the quiche and equally as eagerly spat it back out. "What kind of pie is this?" Alfred complained.

Arthur laughed. He knew what a quiche was and that it wasn't a pie, but he should have known to warn the boys before serving them something round and deep. "It's not a pie. It's a quiche. There's cheese and bacon in it."

"Bacon?" Alfred asked, eyeing the not-pie skeptically.

"Yes, you like bacon don't you, Alfred?" Arthur asked as he ate his own piece. Francine had been right. It wasn't as good as it had been earlier, but it was still better than any microwave meal they could have eaten.

"Yes…" Alfred admitted slowly and he sniffed at a forkful of quiche before trying it again.

"Isn't it tasty?" Arthur suggested.

Alfred scrunched up his face and Arthur was afraid that he'd spit the food out again, but then the boy swallowed. "It is. I like keys." He mispronounced the French word and Arthur laughed.

Turning his attention to his other son, Arthur asked, "Matthew, do you like it?"

The younger boy smiled happily and Arthur was surprised to see that Matthew had already eaten half of his piece. "I love it!" He proclaimed.

Arthur smiled, relieved. Francine got points for this one. The salad didn't go over as well and Alfred picked up an unfamiliar green leafy thing and started playing with it. "Look I'm a giraffe!" Alfred proclaimed and stuck out his tongue trying to eat the leaf like he had seen giraffes do on TV. Arthur chuckled good-humoredly. As long as Alfred ate it, he didn't mind how he did it. Another thing Arthur noticed was that the boys were more likely to eat salads that had croutons and slivers of carrots in them. They also liked whatever dressing Francine had used. Over all, it was a lot easier to feed the boys this salad than it normally was for Arthur, but still a hassle. Then there was the bread which ended up getting slathered with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spread and eaten with zeal.

The rest of the leftovers were finished off and then the small family did the dishes together and cleaned up the kitchen. Once the chores were completed, the boys went to their room to play and Arthur set up his laptop again and continued his work tiredly. Unlike earlier, there were several distractions, and Arthur allowed himself to take a few breaks to stand and stretch and make himself a cup of tea. Once Alfred and Matthew came out of their room to show Arthur Lego creations they had built. Alfred made a plane and Matthew made a car. Later the boys wandered into the family room and watched cartoons.

Soon enough it was time for bed and Arthur tucked the boys in (after some protesting on their end) and told them another bedtime story. Tonight he wove a story about wizards and evil sorcerers and an epic battle between good and evil. He randomly threw in a helpful old witch and a talking squirrel (which was later turned into a bald eagle at Alfred's request). The wizards had to travel across the lands, battling ghosts and goblins and were about to face the ultimate opponent when the last sleepy eyelid closed and did not reopen again. Arthur kissed them both on their brows, made sure that they were covered with their blankets, and then turned out the lights.

Then Arthur continued with his routine, cleaning up a little and trying desperately to catch up on his work. He worked past midnight tonight before he finally shut his laptop and sleepily crawled into his own bed, falling asleep soon after.

* * *

Author's note: The nyotalia names Gretchen and Lorena I borrowed from Kanki Youji.


End file.
